Desk

ABSTRACT

Desk comprising two boxes connected in spaced relationship via a cover and a back wall wherein the two boxes with the back wall and upper cover are formed by a one-piece fabricated hard foam body which is open in the region of the front side and the bottom of the boxes and at the bottom of said boxes is supportable and closable each by means of a rigid ground plate and which at a spacing from the back wall is provided with a partition in prolongation of the lower end of said back wall and defining therewith and with the adjacent box walls a hollow space which may be covered up on the top by separate elements.

United States Patent Hofmann-Igl [4 1 Apr. 25, 1972 [5 1 DESK 2,962,334 11/1960 Dutmers ..312/265 x [72] inventor: Ernest Hol'mann-Igl, Rosenheim. Mitter- Dl4s948 "946 Lanson "312/194 feld, e y FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1 Assisnw Wilhelm Werndl Buwmobelhbrik, 599,978 3/1948 Great Britain ..312/196 heim, Germany [22] Filed: 31, 1970 Primary E.raminer-Casmir A. Nunberg [2i] Appl. No.: 68,195

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Sept. 3. 1969 Germany ..P 19 44 731,5

[56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS Wallach et al ..3l2/l95 Attorney-Thomas B. Graham [57] ABSTRACT Desk comprising two boxes connected in spaced relationship via a cover and a back wall wherein the two boxes with the back wall and upper cover are formed by a one-piece .fabricated hard foam body which is open in the region of the walls a hollow space which may be covered up on the top by separate elements;

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPRZS I972 3, 658 397 Inventor.-

ERNEST HOFMANN-IGL Attorney DESK The invention relates to a desk comprising two boxes connected in spaced relationship by cover plate and back plate.

Conventional desks consist of a plurality of single wooden or plastic parts which must be assembled. A structure of this kind necessitates rather high manufacturing costs and long production times.

It is the object of the invention to provide a desk which may be assembled from a few one-piece elements.

This object is solved in that the two boxes are formed with their back wall and upper cover by a one-piece hard foam body which is open in the region of the front and bottom sides of the boxes and on thebottom side maybe covered and supported by means of a rigid ground plate carrying the supports for drawers or the like, said foamed body comprisingat a spacing from the back wall a partition extending from the bottom of said back wall and defining therewith and with the adjacent box walls a hollow space which can be covered up by separate elements. The hard foam body is foamed in one piece from synthetic foam having a dense surface skin and being sufficiently seIfsupporting. Thereby, the boxes have sufficient 2 self-rigidity due to their configuration as a hollow body, the

boxes being Iconnected by a further hollow body serving as stiffening element and being formed by the back wall and the partition. The stiffening body formed by the back wall and the partition is not only providing a stiffening element but in addition provides a forming space for desk equipment accessible room-savingly and easily, such as e.g. a microphone, a dictaphone, paper disintegrator, a telephone or the like. The separate rigid ground plate forming the bottom of the box strengthens the boxes and conveniently serves as holder for the carriers of drawers or the like, so that the hard foam body may be foamed without any fixtures or metal fittings. Instead of mounting carriers for drawers or. the like on the ground plate, prefabricated insert units may likewise be inserted in the boxes after their closure by said ground plate, said units capable of adopting the most various structurs and partitions to suit requirements. By using a hard foam body as the main part of a desk the'possibility is afforded to give it rounded soft contours whereby any impact injuries are avoided which may occur if the desk were sharp edged.

Conveniently the partition is given firstly-a shallow sloping from the upper front rim of the hard foam body and at about the last third is given an steep sloping towards the lower edge of the back wall. With such an arrangement the front shallow part which is recessed as compared to the upper side of the boxes and is limited toward the bottom by the partition may serve as storing compartment in place of the otherwise customary drawer of a desk, the compartment being lockable conveniently by a turn-up plate.

Thereby the advantage is offered that such compartment may be opened at any time without the need of removing the chair as isthe case with otherwise customary middle drawers.

Preferably the hollow space is divided by an upright onepiece (ridge) at the transition from the shallow to the steeper partition section and integral therewith, the front section of wide to ensure safe stand. Such a support leg can be prefabricated same as the hard foam body to be connected thereafter with the rigid ground plates, such a unit comprising the support leg and ground plates being linkable with the hard foam body as a prefabricated unit. Of particular advantage thereby is the fact that the supporting skeleton is formed by a central tube bent in a U-shape, the tube being imbedded in a hard foam body protruding from said tube to the front and to the rear and falling off from its largest sectional height within the tube range obliquely to the fore and aft thus forming a foothold for the desk user or for a person seated at the rear side of the desk.

The invention is hereinafter described in more detail in an embodiment depicted in diagrammatic drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is the front view of desk according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the disk as per FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is the side elevation of the desk as per FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section along the line IVIV of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along the line VV of FIG. I; and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the desk as per FIG. 1 before the assembling of hard foam body and support leg.

the hollow space being coverable with a turn-up plate and the rear section thereof by a service board ledger so as to take-up a telephone, microphone or the like.

The back wall and partition conveniently end up slightly above the lower edge of the boxes so that for example a person seated at the rear side of the desk to take dictation may accommodatingly place the feed in the space between the boxes.

The back wall may be drawn up over the top side of the box by forming an apron, suitable of being continued at its both ends and running at right angle therewith by shields dropping continuously to the front onto the level of the top side of the box.

A particularly favorable configuration is achieved if a onepieced U-shaped support leg is provided connected at the upright legs with the two ground plates so as to support the hard foam body, the support leg consisting of a supporting skeleton mantled with foam plastics and being sufficiently The desk represented herein substantially consists of two parts, i.e. the hard foam body 1 forming the main desk body and the, support leg 2. The hard foam body 1 has two boxes 3 and 4 which are open on the front-and bottom sides and connected with each other by one common back wall 5 as well as by a partition 6 which, as can be seen in particular from FIG. 5, extends substantially over the whole depth of the desk and is provided with a portion 7 recessing from the front upper rim of the hard foam body, which portion is continued in the last third by an steeply sloping or abruptly dropping portion 8 adjacent back wall 5, so that the partition together with the back wall and adjacent side walls 9 and 10 of the boxes are forming a strengthening hollow body connecting said boxes. The partition 6 at the transition point between portions 7 and 8 is drawn upwardly under formation of an intermediate ridge 1] resulting in the front recessed portion 12 that may serve as storing compartment which is lockable by a work plate 13 pivotable upwardly around an axis lying at ridge l1 and in the rear portion 14 that can be covered up by a service board 15 which may serve as carrier for a telephone, paper disintegrator and the like. In this scheme the back wall 5 is conveniently drawn up in the region between boxes 3 and 4 under formation of an apron 16, so that the service board 15 can be given an inclination furtheringv the use of the objects lodged therein. Subsequent to the apron 16, shields l7 and 18 may be arranged laterally, which continuously fall off to the fore, as particularly represented in FIG. 4, and laterally define the working zone proper of the work plate 13. Boxes 3 and 4 with the back wall 5, partition 6,ridge ll, apron l6 and shields 17 and 18 are foamed in a single operation under formation of the hard foam body 1; the configuration of the individual parts may be elected such that generally a bipartite form may be used.

Boxes 3 and 4 on their bottom side can be walled off by rigid ground plates 19 and 20 which stiffen the boxes and at the same time may serve as holders for carriers 21 for drawers or the like which are previously mounted before fixing the ground plates. Ground plates 19 and 20 are supported by the one-piece support leg 2 consisting of a supporting tube 22 bent in a Ushape and imbedded in a hard foam body, the ends of said tube being capable of carrying struts 23 for the assembly of the ground plates. The leg 2 has a width extending substantially over the whole depth of the desk, its cross-section as can most clearly be seen from FIG. 5 falling off to the fore and aft from the largest sectional height in the region of the tube 22, so that footholds 24 and 25 are provided for the feed of a desk user. ,To ease the use of such foothold 25 on the back side of the desk the back wall 5 as well as the partition 6 of the hard foam body 1 preferably end above the bottom edge of boxes 3 and 4.

The prefabricated hard foam body 1 is assembled in the manner shown in FIG. 6 with the likewise prefabricated leg 2 comprising the ground plates 19 and 20 mounted thereon in one operation. whereupon the work plate 13 and the service board 15 may be mounted and a suitable closure of the front side of the boxes may be provided. Instead of pre-assembling the carriers 21 with the ground plates 19 and 20, insert boxes may be prefabricated which are then slit into the boxes from the front side.

What is claimed:

1. A desk comprising two boxes and a top connecting said boxes in spaced relationship. a back wall mounted thereon, the two boxes, the back wall and top being formed as a unitary fabricated hard foam body said body being open at one side to define a front, and at the bottom of the boxes, a rigid base plate supporting and closing said unitary body, carriers for drawers or the like on said plate, which plate at an interval from the back wall is provided with a partition to extend the lower end of said wall, defining therewith and with the adjacent box walls a hollow space.

2. Desk according to claim 1, wherein said partition from the upper front rim of said hard foam body has a shallow slope upward and then, in the last third, a steep slope downward that drops substantially to the bottom edge of said back wall.

3. Desk according to claim 2, wherein the hollow space defined by the sloping front at the transition point from the shallow to the steep partition is provided with an upright ridge. a level turn-up work plate to cover the front section of said hollow space, and a service board to cover the rear section.

4. A desk according to claim 3, wherein said back wall and partition end above the bottom edge of said boxes.

5. A desk according to claim 4, wherein said back wall is extended upwardly over the top side of said box to an apron, the ends of said apron continuing in shields running at right angle therewith and sloping continuously to the fore down to the level of the top side of said boxes.

6. A desk according to claim 5, wherein a U-shaped support leg is provided for said hard foam body connected at its upright legs with the two base plates, said support leg consisting of a supporting skeleton in a case of hard synthetic foam and having a width ensuring stability.

7. A desk according to claim 6, wherein said supporting skeleton is formed of a metal tube bent in a U-shaped, said tube being imbedded in hard foam body protruding from said tube to fore and aft and sloping from its largest sectional height within the tube range to fore and aft. 

1. A desk comprising two boxes and a top connecting said boxes in spaced relationship, a back wall mounted thereon, the two boxes, the back wall and top being formed as a unitary fabricated hard foam body said body being open at one side to define a front, and at the bottom of the boxes, a rigid base plate supporting and closing said unitary body, carriers for drawers or the like on said plate, which plate at an interval from the back wall is provided with a partition to extend the lower end of said wall, defining therewith and with the adjacent box walls a hollow space.
 2. Desk according to claim 1, wherein said partition from the upper front rim of said hard foam body has a shallow slope upward and then, in the last third, a steep slope downward that drops substantially to the bottom edge of said back wall.
 3. Desk according to claim 2, wherein the hollow space defined by the sloping front at the transition point from the shallow to the steep partition is provided with an upright ridge, a level turn-up work plate to cover the front section of said hollow space, and a service board to cover the rear section.
 4. A desk according to claim 3, wherein said back wall and partition end above the bottom edge of said boxes.
 5. A desk according to claim 4, wherein said back wall is extended upwardly over the top side of said box to an apron, the ends of said apron continuing in shields running at right angle therewith and sloping continuously to the fore down to the level of the top side of said boxes.
 6. A desk according to claim 5, wherein a U-shaped support leg is provided for said hard foam body connected at its upright legs with the two base plates, said support leg consisting of a supporting skeleton in a case of hard synthetic foam and having a width ensuring stability.
 7. A desk according to claim 6, wherein said supporting skeleton is formed of a metal tube Bent in a U-shaped, said tube being imbedded in hard foam body protruding from said tube to fore and aft and sloping from its largest sectional height within the tube range to fore and aft. 